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Ultima The Ultima Underworld I & II Thread

Cael

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I suspect you can get what you need and satisfy the main quest by other means but I didn't try quests at all and I listed maybe half the bugs I saw running around the first level.

It does show promise though.
I hope they fix it. I just remembered one instance of the bartering thing: You have to barter with Zak to get the Taper of Sacrifice. If you can't barter, your only hope is to kill Zak.
 

LESS T_T

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Codex 2014


Just imagining, I wonder if he will try to make an Underworld-like game someday. It's one of the two favorite games of him alongside Ultima 7 after all.
 

*-*/\--/\~

Cipher
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http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...nderworld-and-the-freedom-to-make-bad-choices

714x-1

Since when you can carry 2932 stones? Lazy cheater.
:mob:
 

*-*/\--/\~

Cipher
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If you want spellcasting, classes like druid do it too, without being gimped in other areas like mages, who can barely carry more than their own underpants.
 

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Arcane
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Absolutely druid, which is the only class which can get a decent strength value AND a decent intelligence value. The latter isn't THAT useful, anyway, since it only affects mana pool, thus even 18 is enough. Strength otoh is vital (27-28), while dexterity is almost completely useless.

Magic can be useful, but you'll mainly use your brute force during the adventure, believe me.
 
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"I was so caught up in admiring the view that I failed to note a goblin hurling sling stones at my head. That happens to me routinely in games like Skyrim these days, but here it's definitely a first."

:retarded:
 

Zed Duke of Banville

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So fellas I bought "Ultima Underworld" on thy last GoG sale and I have a question. Is mage class fun to play or should I stick with fighter/paladin etc.?
Choose a class with high strength, since this determines carrying capacity and can't be changed. You can make good use of both swordcraft and spellcasting with the same character (find something with fairly high scores in both strength and intelligence), and this is certainly the most effective way to play the game. Also take note that some skills have little to no utility:
traps (especially), appraise, sneak, charm, track, swimming. Some people would include picklock and repair in the list of skills to be avoided. Specialize in one type of weapon (sword, predictably, is easiest).
 

Unkillable Cat

LEST WE FORGET
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To add to what Zed has said:

In UW1 put in about 2-3 skill points in Swimming, to raise the skill to around 8 or 9. You will be dealing with decently large volumes of water, especially early on, so this will help loads with those. In UW2 there's less water about so maybe a single skill point is needed, if any.

Repair is also a useless skill, mostly because there are better methods for it in both games.

Picklock is clearly useless in UW2, as two better methods exist. I'm fairly certain you can also get by without it in UW1 until a better method becomes available.

Tracking is a neat idea but ultimately pointless, which sets it aside from the other useless skills of UW.

One final point: How high you can train certain skills is dependant upon what class you picked at the start. Max skill level is 30, but you may find some skills being cut off at lower values.
 

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Arcane
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Let's make it easier: these are the only skills you'll want to focus on, Mikeal. Not because they are more useful than others, but because they are the only useful ones.
Yeah, the skill system is broken as hell:

- Attack
- Defense
- Casting
- Mana
- Lore
- A weapon skill (like Zed said, sword is the best one; mace and axe are viable too, but avoid unarmed and ranged)

All of them up to 30 points

Also (<10):
- A bit of acrobat (to avoid falling damage)
- A bit of swimming

These are completely optional, though.
 
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Sceptic

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Divinity: Original Sin
Also
http://www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk/category/ultima-patcher/

Better sound.

The installation is pretty straightforward: open the program, select "Ultima Uderworld", select "install general MIDI patch".
You need a CM32L rom or a MT32 rom for the "sound option" too. You can download one via torrent or other not-very-legal site (just type CM32L/MT32 on Google, and you will find one).
Terrible idea. If you're getting a CM-32L ROM (get that one, not the MT-32 one) then you should use that for both music and sound. UW1 uses some of the CM-32L-specific tones (such as when swimming) and you won't hear them with either the MT-32 ROM or with the GM patch. Munt is at a point where it emulates the MT-32 line pretty well and there are versions of DOSBox that have it built-in (and they're the DOSBox versions you should be using, really). You could get away with the GM patch for UW2 since it uses digitized sound effects but you might as well just keep using the CM-32L ROM and emulation.
 

Sceptic

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Divinity: Original Sin
I just finished reading it. As usual he seems to have messed up something but blames it on the game. He's complaining about sound effects being poor, and since this game's sound effects are better than anything that came out before I'm pretty sure he's playing in MT-32 mode through the Windows GM emulator or something equally bad.

Otherwise he's done a fine job describing just how revolutionary the game was and how much it changed the paradigm in terms of abstraction. You really had to be there and play it before Doom had come out to understand how shocking it was. Almost as shocking as the laughable voice acting - I remember we were wowed on a technical but the voice acting itself was the butt of all the jokes from day one. He's also right about the nonsensical plot, but while I remember being aware of it I don't think anyone I knew cared because the game itself was so good.
 

octavius

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I didn't react to the voice acting the first times I played, but when I replayed it some years ago I was shocked at how bad it was.

As for the sound, I remember that being my only disappointment with UU. The sound effects were so weak and wishy washy that I actually thought it was a bug. So no wonder CRPG Addict reacted when playing with default settings.
The effects are still not great with Munt, but good enough. Doom certainly was much better in the sound department.
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
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Also
http://www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk/category/ultima-patcher/

Better sound.

The installation is pretty straightforward: open the program, select "Ultima Uderworld", select "install general MIDI patch".
You need a CM32L rom or a MT32 rom for the "sound option" too. You can download one via torrent or other not-very-legal site (just type CM32L/MT32 on Google, and you will find one).

Completely subjective really but I find the MT-32 music is shit and horribly mixed. It is LOUD and invasive.

The sbpro MIDI music is nuanced and atmospheric. Huge difference IMO.
 

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Arcane
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Italy
Also
http://www.pixsoriginadventures.co.uk/category/ultima-patcher/

Better sound.

The installation is pretty straightforward: open the program, select "Ultima Uderworld", select "install general MIDI patch".
You need a CM32L rom or a MT32 rom for the "sound option" too. You can download one via torrent or other not-very-legal site (just type CM32L/MT32 on Google, and you will find one).
Terrible idea. If you're getting a CM-32L ROM (get that one, not the MT-32 one) then you should use that for both music and sound. UW1 uses some of the CM-32L-specific tones (such as when swimming) and you won't hear them with either the MT-32 ROM or with the GM patch. Munt is at a point where it emulates the MT-32 line pretty well and there are versions of DOSBox that have it built-in (and they're the DOSBox versions you should be using, really). You could get away with the GM patch for UW2 since it uses digitized sound effects but you might as well just keep using the CM-32L ROM and emulation.
My bad.
I played the game last year for the first time and I'm not a DOS "expert", thus I didn't remember very well.
 

Junmarko

† Cristo è Re †
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http://ultimacodex.com/2018/03/underworld-exporter-version-1-03-released/
Underworld Exporter: Version 1.07d Released
BY WTF DRAGON · MARCH 16, 2018

underworld-exporter-720x340.png


If you haven’t yet heard about Underworld Exporter, well…my apologies for my part in that, because I have not kept up with news about the project. And that’s a shame, because it’s an exciting project indeed; it allows you to export information from the original Ultima Underworld game data files into the Unity game engine, resulting in a fully playable version of Ultima Underworld using said engine.

The current version, 1.07d, was released at the end of February; change notes for it are as follows:

    • AI has been overhauled in this release.
    • Vanilla save-game compatibility has been improved.
    • Game load times have improved.
    • NPC poisoning has been restored. Narvey Night-eyes will shove your s*** in if you have low defence.
Let’s highlight that point: this project will give you a fully playable, from start to finish, port of Ultima Underworld that uses the (modern, cross-platform) Unity engine. And in addition to that, Underworld Exporter also supports several other Looking Glass Studios games to varying degrees:

The following Looking Glass Studios games are supported to various levels. Original game files are absolutley required to play however in the interests of full disclosure some UI assets and sound effects are bundled with this download.

1.1 Ultima Underworld 1 (UW1).
UW1 is fully supported and can be completed from start to finish. Save games are both forward and backwardly compatable with the original dos version.

1.2 Ultima Undeworld 1 Demo Version (UW0)
UW0 is a freely available demo of the first level of UW1. It is fully supported with the following exceptions:
-The rolling demo is not supported.
-Weapon animations are not currently working (combat still works)

1.3 Ultima Underworld 2 (UW2)
UW2 is partially supported with full support to come in time.
-Game saves (loading of vanilla saves is possible)
-Some traps and triggers are not implemented.
-Many new conversation functions are not implemented
-UW2 specific HUD is not implemented.

1.4 System Shock 1 (SHOCK)
SHOCK is currently enabled in a map viewer mode. Developement of any SS1 focused releases has been postponed pending completion of Underworld 1&2.

1.4 Terra Nove Strike Force Centrauri (TNOVA)
TNOVA is implemented as a side project map-viewer. There are no plans to develop this game any further.

The project author, Hank Morgan, hasn’t gotten into the habit of updating a project changelog on its Github repository, but he did include a full set of instructions on how to actually install and configure Underworld Exporter as part of the latest release announcement, as well as some notes on the default controls used once Ultima Underworld is up and running in Unity.

You can grab the latest release of Underworld Exporter — along with its source code — over on Github. Links thereto are also available at the project download entry here at the Codex.
 
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Junmarko

† Cristo è Re †
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OK playing the Unity version now. Some interesting developments I will share.

First, an opinion: If you have not played Ultima Underworld, play the original. While the Unity port is largely functional and I am encouraged by what I see, the original is still the best experience.

Lots of differences for now:
  • The controls are obviously not the same. There is an odd (at first) hybrid interaction/mouselook mode that I got used to pretty quickly. Well done IMO but the ever-useful context sensitive cursor mode is not present. You have to switch to look mode, action mode while switching back and forth to mouselook and interactive mode. It is a good compromise as the different interaction modes are selectable via remappable hotkey so thumbs up on controls.
  • There is no bartering in the game as of now.
  • Nobody owns anything. There is no "Bedroll belonging to an Outcast" for example.
  • Because there are no possessions, there is no stealing and no repercussions for being spotted stealing.
  • Dialog is in but selection of dialog options by mouse is missing as of now. You must press the number corresponding to the option you want to select.
  • Dialog text colours are off.
  • Combat needs tweaking. Your characters is too strong at the start. Rats and worms die in one shot and I was able to clobber 3 human outcasts before dying at level 1.
  • Movement in general is very fluid but too fast by half. Creature combat was paced for someone who had to use the less nimble control mode and moved much slower in general. I suspect there will need to be some changes made there or it will just be piss easy.
  • Adjust the default light level darker in the ini file. It is set at 12 by default which is much brighter than the original. I suggest 4-5.
  • Your runebag comes full :?
  • The automap is fully realized but cursor position is offset from the quill
  • Some inventory bugs exist. I am carrying 259 lbs of stuff (but I am not really) and I can't pick up anything else.
  • Swimming is not there. You can spring-swim the whole level 1 waterway without drowning as level 0. There is no visual bobbing, you swim way too fast and there is zero risk of drowning
This all combines to make the Unity port cool for nostalgics but definitely NOT recommended for first time players. I consider it promising but badly broken compared to the original. But mouselook...

Oh, it comes with an editor, but fuck if I can figure it out.
That's probably the most feedback he's got in one go - should DM him on gitHub otherwise he'll never see it. :salute:
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
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Submitted an issue @ Github and invited the guy to participate here. It would be awesome for this to get to faithful representation.
 

Junmarko

† Cristo è Re †
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Submitted an issue @ Github and invited the guy to participate here. It would be awesome for this to get to faithful representation.
Awesome, gitHub feedback can stunt a project if you're solo.

(Daggerfall Unity hitting 1.0 and this turning to vaporware would also turn me insane :lol:)
 

Cael

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Nov 1, 2017
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I usually picked the Paladin. 30/18/12 S/D/I. Dex helps in how fast you move and how quickly you turned, IIRC, whereas Int is just good for mana, which you shouldn't need much of. The spellcasting in UW is... fairly pointless. I only ever used it for Water Walk, IIRC. There is more than enough potions for everything else.

UW2, you want a bit of magic for the Enchant spell. It helps to not blow up the item (of course, so does save/load, but meh).
 

Doctor Sbaitso

SO, TELL ME ABOUT YOUR PROBLEMS.
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Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Grab the Codex by the pussy Serpent in the Staglands
What? Spells were awesome un UW. Yes you could melee your way as well but preferring one viable playstyle does not invalidate others.
 

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